Around the polls in the Hanover-Adams area

Kate Klunk, winner of the Republican nomination in the 169th State House race, with voters May 20 in Hanover. (SHANE DUNLAP -- THE EVENING SUN )

Turnout at Manheim Township was about 300 voters as of 6:30 Tuesday night.

"We've had the parking lot full a few times, but it's been slow," said Laurie Menges, a Hanover resident who was handing out literature in support of 169th state House candidate Kate Klunk. "It's nothing like it was for the 2008 presidential election when we had cars lined up down the road."

Railroad, a borough of 278 people as of 2010, has 125 registered voters, about 30 of which cast ballots Tuesday according to a borough election official.

In Glen Rock, slightly more than 200 voters turned out as of 7:42 Tuesday night.

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Bob Sell, 57, of Manheim Township, inquired pollsters about their candidates' membership in the National Rifle Association.

"Anyone who is an NRA member is usually a First, Second and Fourth Amendment supporter," Sell said. "If you have those ideals and principles, you're my candidate."

But Sell, a 41-year member of the NRA, said politicians should not join the association just to gain popularity among voters.

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The 169th Legislative District is new to York County. It was moved to Hanover and southern York County from Philadelphia as part of the recent redistricting process that aims to ensure each district has as close to equal representation as possible.

The district consists of Codorus, Heidelberg, Penn, Manheim, Shrewsbury and West Manheim townships as well as Glen Rock, Hanover, New Freedom, Jefferson and Railroad boroughs.

With the Hanover area having such a heavy population comparatively to the eastern portion of the district, one New Freedom man expressed concern that the district will be largely influenced by Hanover.

"It's more populated out that way, so I think there's gonna be a lot of influence coming out of Hanover," said Steven Clayton, who stood outside the New Freedom Community Center as the polls closed Tuesday.

More than half the district's population resides in either Hanover Borough, Penn or West Manheim townships.

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This election has given first-time volunteers a chance to get involved with politics.

Jimmy Grenagle, 14, of Penn Township, campaigned with his church group for Marc Woerner. They went door-to-door handing out literature and explaining what "Mr. Marc" stood for, Jimmy said.

"Sometimes they were nice and sometimes they were a little bit rude," he said of the people who answered the doors.

One of his favorite moments was when a resident looked at a flyer and was immediately taken aback by Woerner's lack of hair.

His mom, Beth Corey, is also a first-time volunteer. She said one of the things that surprised her most about working for the campaign was the lack of animosity between the candidates.

Brandy Brown, who was distributing literature for Kate Klunk, agreed.

"At the end of the day we're all on the same team," Brown said.

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Voter turnout in Heidelberg Township as of 6:45 p.m. was "about 350 voters and one black snake" that was in the parking lot earlier on Tuesday, said Judge of Elections Chris Mummert.

Overall, both poll workers and volunteers here said it's been a busy day, and they expect a turnout of about 20 percent.
This number is higher than the last primary's approximate 14 percent turnout, said poll worker Jay Miller, and it's much higher than that of the special election.

There are also more people handing out literature outside the polls, Mummert said. She believes this is because many of the candidates are local.

Heidelberg also had some excitement outside the polls when a black snake crawled out from under a minivan. The snake started rearing up at poll workers while they tried to coax it away.

Poll worker Miller came to the rescue a few minutes later and used a stick to move the reptile across the street.

Evening Sun reporters Jennifer Wentz and Mark Walters contributed to this story